As the senior leadership of the North Atlantic Alliance prepares for the 2014 Summit in Wales, they face the daunting requirement of adjusting NATO’s strategic perspective for the new realities of the international security environment. The 2014 Wales Summit must provide the necessary political guidance to enable the Alliance to properly prepare for a challenging future. In addition, with the rise of Russia as a more aggressive competitor and possible adversary on the Alliance’s eastern borders, the West must also develop a new strategic narrative that embraces four questions to be addressed at the Summit:

1) Can NATO provide credible collective defence to its members?

2) What type of reassurance can NATO provide?

3) What support can NATO offer to states on Russia’s margins?

4) What relationship should now be sought with Russia, and what measures make for effective pressure upon it?

The Alliance must create a new strategic communication plan and narrative that answers these and many additional questions in order to ensure continued political viability and public support for its missions.